JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rayonier Advanced Materials (NYSE:RYAM) announced today that it has
entered into a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) with Borregaard ASA to
form a joint venture (JV) at its Fernandina Beach facility for the
manufacturing, marketing and sale of natural lignin-based products. The
new company will be owned 45 percent by RYAM and 55 percent by
Borregaard.

“This partnership between Rayonier Advanced Materials, the world’s
leader in cellulose specialties, and Borregaard, the global leader in
lignin-based products, is significant for both companies,” said RYAM CEO
Paul Boynton. “For us, the project advances our strategy of leveraging
the value of our assets and co-products while further enhancing the
competitive position of our Fernandina plant.”

According to Borregaard, the project increases their lignin products
sales capacity by 30 percent. “The Fernandina Beach project represents
an excellent growth opportunity for our lignin business in a global
market which for some time has been supply-constrained,” stated Per A.
Sørlie, President and CEO of Borregaard.

Lignin, a natural component of wood, is a co-product of RYAM’s cellulose
specialties manufacturing process and is currently used for its energy
value by the facility. The planned JV would process the lignin into
higher-value products that provide environmentally friendly alternatives
to petroleum-based chemicals used globally in construction, agriculture
and other industrial applications.

It is anticipated that the project will be completed in two phases over
five years. The parties estimate an aggregate capital investment of $110
million for a capacity of 150,000 metric tons per year. The first phase
is expected to commence commercial operations in 2017.

Completion of the JV is subject to board approval by both companies and
conclusion of definitive agreements, as well as final engineering,
refinement of capital estimates, and obtaining required permits and
other approvals.

“Pursuing this opportunity with the leader in lignin-based chemistry
significantly enhances the prospects for success while reducing
operational and market-based risk,” stated Boynton. “As we have stated
previously, our focus in 2015 is to take advantage of the value of our
co-product streams, reduce our costs and working capital, optimize our
assets and grow our business. This opportunity is one example of how we
expect to deliver on these goals.”

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this document regarding anticipated financial,
business, legal or other outcomes, including statements relating to
future performance, outcomes, events, developments or financial or
operational benefits, performance or results, are “forward-looking
statements” made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities
laws. These forward-looking statements are identified by the use of
words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “estimate,” “believe,”
“intend,” “anticipate,” “forecast” and other similar language. However,
the absence of these or similar words or expressions does not mean that
a statement is not forward-looking. While we believe that these
forward-looking statements are reasonable when made, forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and undue
reliance should not be placed on these statements. Although we believe
that the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are
based on reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that these
expectations will be attained and it is possible that actual results may
differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking
statements due to a variety of risks and uncertainties.

Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: our
ability to complete negotiations for the JV and enter into definitive
agreements on terms mutually acceptable to the parties; fulfillment of
various business, legal, financial and operational conditions precedent
to entry into and commencement of the JV; the ability of the JV to
achieve anticipated and forecasted returns and other expected benefits;
risks relating to the construction and operation of the JV’s
manufacturing facilities; pricing and acceptance of the lignin produced
by the JV in the relevant markets, as may be impacted by supply and
demand and other factors; and other future developments and changes in
the lignin markets to be served by the JV.

Other important factors that could cause actual results or events to
differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements
that may have been made in this document are described or will be
described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K. Rayonier Advanced
Materials assumes no obligation to update these statements except as is
required by law.

About Rayonier Advanced Materials

Rayonier Advanced Materials is the leading global supplier of
high-purity, cellulose specialties natural polymers for the chemical
industry. Working closely with its customers, the Company engineers
natural polymeric chemical chains to create dozens of customized
high-purity performance fibers at its plants in Florida and Georgia.
Rayonier Advanced Materials’ intellectual property and manufacturing
processes have been developed over 85 years, resulting in unique
properties and very high quality and consistency. The Company’s
facilities can produce up to 675,000 metric tons of cellulose
specialties products for use in a wide range of industrial and consumer
products such as filters, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Rayonier
Advanced Materials is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 50
exporters and delivers products to 79 ports around the world, serving
customers in 20 countries across five continents. More information is
available at www.rayonieram.com.

About Borregaard ASA

Borregaard operates the world’s most advanced biorefinery. By using
natural, sustainable raw materials, Borregaard produces advanced and
environmentally friendly biochemicals, biomaterials and bioethanol that
replace oil-based products. The Borregaard Group has 1080 employees in
16 countries and a turnover in 2014 of approx. NOK 4 billion (USD 500
million).The lignin business constitutes close to 50% of the
Group’s turnover with plants in 7 countries.